Cross-Locked: Fate
by Toxic Trifle
Summary: After a chaotic mishap with the Chaos Emeralds and this strange paper doll, the Sonic cast find themselves thrown into the gory, grotesque depths of Tenjin Elementary, a school cursed with death... Friendships will be torn, loyalty will show its true worth and betrayal lingers in one's mind... It doesn't exactly help that little Sachiko's pulling strings... [Gore. Couples.]
1. 001 - Taken Chances

**Taken Chances?**

It was dark at first.

I couldn't see anything. Not even my own hands.

…This sucked…

I'd have taken this like a duck would water, with all of my time of showing off my athletic ability with my eyes shut, but…

Where I am now… It felt a little unnerving to do just that. I mean, there wasn't much difference in whether you had your eyes open or not… blackness was… well… what was the word? …Infinite?

…

Yeah, that…

It didn't seem like a good idea to close them… it's a matter of comfort, see? And I could safely say that I'm not comfortable right now. At all. Not even enough to close my eyes.

"…Agh! …Damn…"

That was my leg. On a desk leg. Irony aside, I wish I could see… heck, I'd love a little Chaos Spear right now… Anything… Then again, I guess beggars can't really be choosers…

I sucked in my breath as a small amount of agony flowed up my body; every time my foot met with the floor, a glacier of throbbing pain would echo up it, right up to my thigh. I really hoped it'd wear off soon…

I stood in silence, before I felt around, trying to find a light switch or something to get me out of the dark… or any of this mess, to be honest. Maybe my eyes would eventually adjust to the darkness. My little buddy said that once… but I can't wait that long.

_**Creak… creak…**_

…Hell… now the FLOOR'S unnerving… Even when almost tip-toeing it knows how to freak you out.

…I need a light switch… something—

"**AH!"**

_**FLASH! FLASH!**_

…!

Lightning… and is that rain…? Maybe… maybe not… but the room just lit up for a second… now that I looked at it…

Rotting, grotesque, dilapidated desks… chipped, beyond-ruin floorboards… (better watch I don't trip on those…) fragility at its peak… A barren, well-aged chalkboard, shattered, ominous windows… the pattering of light rain… no, heavy rain…

H-hmm… h-heh…

Back to school, I guess. Wonder what happened to this place…

I scratched my ear thoughtfully.

Maybe renovations? …Nah… seems a little off for that… maybe I could ask someone around here…

"…Hello?" I called loudly, voice arrogant and somewhat obnoxious.

Nothing answered… at least, for a second.

"…Urggh…"

"Huh?" My ears abruptly pricked, twitching at the noise.

It sounded like someone was groanin—ah!

Something moved.

…Scratch that, something was movING.

I couldn't make it out… but it looked big… and it didn't look like furniture…

It moved significantly, now; it was slowly moving towards what appeared to be and upright stance, picking itself up off the floor…

"…Uuuhhh…" I trailed, speechless for a second, and then cautiously queried, "…Anyone… t-there?"

"D-dammit…"

I stopped.

"…Knux? That you?"

"…"

He didn't answer, and it wasn't until weak, purple eyes met mine that he decided to.

"…Sonic?"

I smiled widely in return. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Knucklehead."

A chuckle sounded at that point.

"_**Hee hee hee…**_

_**Hee hee hee…"**_

"Very funny," the echidna growled.

"That… wasn't me," my suddenly shaky voice responded.

"Don't screw around, Sonic," Knuckles snarled, dusting himself off as he paled.

"No, really! I mean—really! It wasn't me!"

"Knock it off…" he muttered, looking me like I'd stolen his big, shiny gem.

I sighed. There was just no convincing him.

Stubborn Knucklehead…

"… Okay, fine, fine!" I grumbled in a begrudging tone; for once, I'm not trying to screw with him... "It was me…"

"Tch. As if you could scare me with that stupid…" Knuckles paused momentarily, looking around and then at me with a blank expression. "Where are we?"

He looked a little on the wary side as he glanced around.

Late reaction, much…?

"I dunno," I responded with a skeptic shrug. I really, _really _didn't know. "Some sort of school."

"School?" he asked, incredulous, brow raised and purple eyes wide with surprise, nearing me so quickly that I blinked. "WHAT HAPPENED TO EGGMAN'S BASE?"

He'd shouted in my face; I couldn't help but do the same.

Folding my arms, I neared his own face, and then replied, "I DUNNO!" with narrowed eyes and irritation.

Seriously, how should I know? If I did, I'd probably be bragging about how I know and Knux doesn't…

The echidna threw his hands up into the air exasperatedly, looking at me with a vaguely—no, nothing but irritated—expression. "Great. We're stuck in the middle of nowhere, in some creepy school building," he sarcastically quipped, "_Nice_ job, Sonic."

Raising an eye ridge, I promptly yelled back, "Whaddaya mean, 'nice job'?! YOU'RE the one who suggested we charge in!"

"Like you wouldn't have done that anyway!" he snapped in response; tch, as if... I'd think first. Probably… "How was I supposed to know that the Chaos Emeralds were rigged?!"

"We didn't even get THEM!" my annoyed voice replied. Honestly, that was a sucky grab if I ever saw one…

"I know THAT…" Knuckles growled tetchily. "All _I_ got was a crummy piece of paper!"

At this, I stopped. My voice lowered slightly, as I looked at him with a bewildered face. "…A _**what**_?"

"This."

My hot-headed rival immediately held up a ripped piece of paper, waving it ever so slightly in front of my face where I could see it. It was vaguely small, but I could make it out… it was straightly cut and ripped at the same time, edges both different and alike.

Blinking, I asked 'im, "…What's that?"

"I don't have any idea," Knuckles shrugged. "But I must've picked it up in Eggman's base… I don't think I picked it up here…"

"At any rate… we need to find the others. Seen 'em?"

"Sonic, I JUST wake up, and you're asking ME if I've seen them?!" he snapped, looking at me cantankerously—the usual. "I don't sleep with my eyes at the back of my head, you know!"

"The phrase is 'eyes wide open'…" I grumbled, facepalming.

"WHATEVER!" he bellowed, fists shaking as a spiteful glare was shot in my direction. "But asking me that—"

"Geez, geez, geez… I get it, I get it!" I raised my hands defensively, waving them dismissively at him with a sweatdrop. "Calm down already!"

Loosening his muscles, because he's Knuckles, he sighed and just shook his head.

There was an eerily long silence after that, and none of us dared to move or talk at all… at least, I think. Knuckles twitched a few times. Eye twitches…

The ceiling dripped invisible dust, creating sounds like that in an echoing cave.

Knuckles was the first to move; he seemed fed up already.

"Let's get going," his gruff voice grumbled. "We've been here long enough…"

I shrugged, and followed the red echidna as he exited the room…

But damn… my leg… hurts like Hell when I try to walk…

"Such a h-happy guy, ain't ya', Knux?" I asked with a pained smirk, arms behind my head in a relaxed position…

…Anything but that inside. This place gave me the creeps… and my limb wasn't helpin'.

I didn't wanna' drive attention to my leg… Knux would prey upon it with insults in like seconds… karma… I hate ya'.

But nonetheless, I went on… trying to hide the agony I was in with smirks and snarky comments...

"I mean, man, you sure know how to control that temperament in a place like this. I—"

**THUD!**

"AhhhhhHHH…!"

The sound of trickling filled the air, and I stared at my rival, before bringing my gaze down to his now-soaking wet foot.

"Huh?" He blinked for a second, before shaking his foot in a hysteric manner. "Ag—yuck!"

"What IS that?" I inquired in disgust.

…

A little moment of realization was all I needed…

A snigger—from me.

"Wrong place to go to the b-bathroom, Knux," I quipped with a wide, mocking grin.

Knuckles went furiously red at his cheeks, and then snarled in reply, "THAT'S what this is?!"

"You tell me. You're the one who couldn't w-wait to use the bathroom," I laughed scornfully, albeit a little weakly, but I didn't make it blatant... What can I say? The guy's a party to wind up. Heheh.

"It wasn't ME!" Knuckles yelled furiously in response, nothing helping his red muzzle. "It was this BUCKET! THIS BUCKET… RIGHT HERE!"

Rolling my eyes, I replied, "Suuuuuureeeeee—…heh?"

Perplexed, I blinked at the ratty, old bucket on the floor, tipped over and leaking yellow fluid.

…

Joking aside…

"Yuck."

"Yeah, YUCK…" he growled at me irritably.

Heh-heh…

I'd felt somewhat awkward at this point.

"Eh… easy mistake to make, knowing how many of those pe—"

He immediately shot me a 'Shut-up!' glare.

"… Yeah, maybe you should pick that up?"

Grumbling incoherently, Knuckles had the nerve to walk past it begrudgingly. He was ignoring the bucket. And seething with a soaking-wet foot.

… Sweet.

Shrugging sheepishly, I jogged after him with a quaint grin and followed.

***~S~***

"…**AHHHHHHHHH!"**

"Knuckles!"

The ground had slipped beneath my friend's footing, and he'd immediately fallen through, letting out a manly yelp…

Yeah… _manly_…

Need clarification on that, thanks.

My hand gripped his tightly, and I tugged at his arm, wrenching him away from the bottomless darkness and the chipped, rotting floor; it surprised me how that wasn't falling through either….

"The floor here's gone…" he stated the obvious… tch...

"Yeah. Well done, Knucklehead," I replied with a subtle smirk, patting him on the back with fake pride. "Your grape diet really paid off."

"Shut. It…" Knuckles muttered; haha, one of these days, he's gonna' punch me in the face again… and he's gonna' miss!

"I kid, I kid. You alright?"

"Y-yeah… I'm fine," he bluntly responded: he was looking at me quite solemnly. Super serious. Whoa. "…We'll have to watch our steps from now on…"

"No crap," I snarkily shot back, folding my arms and peering into the hole.

For a moment, it took me that time to see how bad it was…

I whistled.

Looked pretty dark… deep… in an off kind of way, too.

Finding nothing of use here—and what would you find of use? A loose board? Yeah, sure—we turned to walk the other way.

"… … HHHHHHUH…?!"

"…_**Bakas**_**..."**

For a split second…

R-red…

…G-grey eyes…

…

…G-girl…?

"…What… what the H-HELL was that?!" Knuckles yelped, glancing around, paranoid probably. I could relate… He was paranoid…

Like I was…

"…"

No answer came out of my mouth to ask his question. Words couldn't. An' even if they could, I probably wouldn't be able to answer him.

Really… _what_ was that…?

I gave a momentary shudder…

_So… cold…_

The air felt thick with some sort of sharp tension I never thought I'd feel. Something was rumbling in my stomach… but what was it…?

I couldn't be hungry… I'd eaten a while ago, but… I…

I couldn't describe it. I… was almost dreading future events to be honest…

Fear? Paranoia? Were those it? …I didn't wanna' stay here any longer and find out…

I side-glanced Knuckles.

He was tense, purple eyes becoming as they were; they had previously shrunk to a measure I'd never seen… he looked scared out of his wits. He didn't show it, like, because he was 'tougher than leather', but… that look before… with the shaking fists… it was freakin' obvious and I knew it.

I opened my mouth—

"Hey, Knu—"

And then, suddenly, I shut up, ears pricking and then my nerves set on their true end…

"…**N-N…ao…miiii! **

**N-N-NAO…MI! **

**P-p-ple…ase... **

**S-stopppp…!"**

Our heads erratically jerked back to the echoing corridor behind us.

"**N-N-N-A…OMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIII! N-Na… S-STOP! NAOMI! NA-A-AOMIIIII!"**

Panicked screams sounded all over, echoing indefinitely throughout our ears. The screams were evident no matter how much we tried to not hear… this was it… real thing…

I yelled in shock, taking a step forward to bolt, "…Someone's in BIG trouble!"

A male voice… fading…

"…**Ahhh… AHHH… AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! YAGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

My attention shot to the ever-wary Knuckles at his snapping glare.

"Stop pointing out the obvious and MOVE, SONIC!"

_**WHOOSH!**_

The echidna wasted no time, and was already rushing forward.

"… HEY!" I yelled after him… but I felt nothing in them… I couldn't move them… "WAIT UP!" I yelled, but I didn't give a reason to ask why until… "…There's a—!"

Knuckles leapt over an incoming hole, feet landing firmly on the creaking floorboards ahead with little difficulty ever thought possible. He really was rushing… he wasn't screwing around…

"KNUX—GAH…!"

That yelp. That yelp sounded when I hit the ground, my vision fading ever so slightly as I tried to get up, make a sense of my surroundings…

My leg… my foot… It hurt… it all hurt…

The ground was so merciless… uncaring… hard… brutal…

It f-freakin'… h-hurt…

But… why now? W-why…? When someone was in danger…?

"UGH…" I grunted, heaving my body to make it move. I had to—

"…**AhhHHHHURK…!"**

Mo…v…

***~S~***

Silence sounded on the second floor; it held solace and an unforgiving silence… one that anyone could grieve over…

Knuckles the Echidna had shot up the stairs in an instant, assuming his rival would follow…

But that silence only followed him… the only thing he could hear was his own footsteps…

Until…

"…**N…a…o…mi…"**

**CREAK… BANG!**

Knuckles' breath hitched, but was it out of sheer fear?

…Who was he kidding…

He was freaking out just as much as the next guy…

"…**N…a…o…mi…"**

**CREAKKKK… BANG…**

_What… what sort of messed up thing is this?!_

As he neared the peak of the stairs, he heard those mumbles and creaks and bangs once more…

In all his life, Knuckles had never been one for cowardice…

He wouldn't abandon someone out of his own damned fear… especially right after he denied it!

"…**N…AO…MI…!"**

**CREAKKKK… BANG-BANG…**

The noises continued, and that voice… sounded like it was choking.

…_!_

Regaining himself immediately, the echidna bolted like he hadn't before, noting this situation was definitely no laughing matter as Sonic made out most of their adventures to be.

He skidded, stopping at a door.

Lavatories… judging by the sign…

But which one…?

Gritting his teeth, he hesitantly listened again…

"**Na…gggGLLKK… Kkk…"**

The sound of a stall door slamming and opening once again…

**CREAK-CREAK… BANG-BANG…**

"…That one!" Knuckles declared to himself, and bolted for the second door.

As he did, his fur stood on end…

Like, dread…

Like, he wasn't meant to be there…

Like, this was… death…

But he braved this measure for a reason, and he would not leave it… not for anything.

"…H-hey… Anyone there…?" he called, fists instinctively raising…

"**G-g…LLLKKK!"**

That noise was his answer.

Shock passed over his features, and he dashed for the stalls, skidding to a complete and utter stop in front of a random door.

…One of them was moving… slamming and opening again… albeit a crack…

_That didn't… sound too good…_

Swallowing, Knuckles' whole body tensed, and he poked his head towards it, cautiously approaching it as if it were going to do him utter ill…

How right his instincts would be…

**CREEEEAAAAAAAAKKKKKKK….!**

Purple, speechless eyes widened in a complete democracy of terror as a human being hovered over thin air, being aided by a noose…

"**N-Na…—Gllkkkk!"**

In front of him, losing life and the spark in her eyes, was none other than _Seiko Shinohara_.

***~S~***

**Yesh, new crossover! :"3**

**I've been planning this for a while… way more than two months, and now I've finally got it down!**

**I love these fandoms so much, so I decided to work with them. :D Blame my obsessions.**

**Corpse Party was a really fun and interesting game for me to play… because I'm an angsty person. :3 Sonic and Corpse Party would obviously make a crossover in my mind… they're both so aweshum! And I'm going to have a hell of a lot of fun writing this!**

**Oooo… To save ****Psycho ****Seiko or to not save her…? :3 I personally love her as a character… XD But hey, what can happen…? ;3 **

**Anyway… I hope readers enjoy this! :3 It will be quite messed up, as Corpse Party is, so don't be too shocked… X)**

**I will appreciate every review I get… it will really motivate me! (: But favouriting and following will tell me someone's reading it too… still, the reviews be aweshum! :3**


	2. 002 - Reality's Whiplash

"Gihhh ihhh baaahhhkkkk!"

"Hh…! Hh! Oh, no, no, no… oooh… M-Momma!"

_**ThudTHUDTHUD!**_

"Hhh-hhh-Hhhh! Oooowwww…!"

…

"Oh… t-that… hu-urts… ooof…"

…

"…I c-can't… see anyone…

…Ooww…

My… ank…le…"

…

"…It h-hurts… but… khh… oof…"

**Shuffle-shuffle…**

"Maybe… I-I can walk on it…"

_**Clatter… thud-thud…**_

"…? It's very q-quiet… M-maybe… I-is… is that scary boy gone…?"

"**GIIHHHHH… IHHH BBAAAHHKKKK!"**

"…! Hh…! No—no! N-n—!"

**THUD.**

…

**Chapter 2**

_**Reality's Whiplash**_

_It's a cold day._

_I'm sat down at my desk. I started work a little while ago, so now I'm just finishing mapping out odds and ends. Most of these odds and ends are for the Tornado, and, I'm really happy I got the correct parts… well, a little. They're going to be delivered tomorrow apparently. Trust me, I'd set to work now if that wasn't the case. I'm just glad I'm getting _something _done around here. I mean, I've been inside a while… the Tornado suffered collateral after the last fight against Eggman, and numerous heavy weight robots. … Yeah, you could probably guess what happened. Haha…_

_Kind of irritating, really… how I have to fix everything again, but in a way, I sort of enjoy it. Fixing's a hobby; it always has been, and it probably always will be. I'm definitely going to focus on durability when I get the parts, though… as much as I hate to admit it, Eggman's weapons _are _getting a bit better… I need to up my game. Stat._

…

_It's pretty quiet, now that I think about it. Normally, people would be visiting, but I guess they're held up at the moment, huh? I never really thought about it before… but even if the silence is pleasant for work atmosphere, I feel… odd… somehow. I've no idea why. Maybe I've eaten something off or something… but… my stomach feels weird. Like, the worried kind of weird. Kind of unnerving right now, even though I'm working. Working normally took my mind off things for a while. This time is different, and I don't know why._

…_Maybe I shouldn't dwell on it right now. I've got a lot on my plate, and I need to figure my own stuff out rather than worrying about things. The next adventure for us will probably be soon, knowing Eggman, and I have to be ready for that when that happens like everyone else will be, regardless of the dread I've got stuck in my stomach right now. That paranoia won't help me at all._

_But still, I can't just shake this feeling off… it seems… omnipresent. Instinct, maybe? _

_All I know is something bad's gonna' happen. That's what I feel like, anyway… might be just me; I don't know about everyone else, and I haven't seen anyone for a while… Guess I've been shut up in here far too long. I'll get to do something about it eventually… but right now, I've got most of my attention on the Tornado than anything else._

_But still, this feeling… it feels like…_

_Instinct…_

"…**Tails-san?"**

"…Huh?"

Miles 'Tails' Prower looked up to see the curious, big, brown eyes of Cream the Rabbit, blinking at him innocently. She'd lolled forward quite a bit, her long, almost-curly ears looming over the piece of paper the kitsune had been writing on. Hands clasped behind her back, she seemed most innocent in this action, verifying it was curiousness itself.

"…?"

After a moment of recoiling and recognition, Tails finally realized she was holding something in her hands; something thatched. It looked to be a basket, woven with golden wicker and patterns that seemed persistently neat. The lid seemed to be poking a bit, now that he looked a little closely…

Cream pulled her head back a bit, remembering her manners as she recoiled; she didn't want to be in Tails' face… that was rude, way against her morals, but she couldn't help but be curious.

Tails could only blink from then on as the cream rabbit smiled brightly, beam lighting up her face like the neon lights of December.

"Uhh… hey, Cream," the kitsune mumbled, a little less audibly that he'd like; awkward. He slowly pushed the paper aside, not noticeably, however, keeping his gaze strict to Cream.

"Hello, Tails-san!" the rabbit chimed happily, eyes closing with that cheerful structure. Opening her eyes again, she politely bowed for a moment, smiling warmly at Tails. "How are you?"

"I'm… good, I think," he responded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he snuck a glance at his unfinished journal entry for the day.

"Oh?" She tilted her head innocently, a concerned expression contorting her features. "You think? Is there something wrong?"

"Well, not exactly," the fox replied, then looked at her.

"Oh… well, do you want to talk about it?" She blinked, frowning.

"…Nah, I'm okay," Tails told her with a meek, reassuring smile.

"…" After a moment, Cream nodded in understanding. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it, and she respected that. It was none of her business, after all. "Okay then!"

Tails was glad she didn't persist.

_I wouldn't wanna' worry her either…_

As always, Cream was being polite and concerned: it was a trait her friends often valued. Always kind and polite to everyone… like mother, like daughter, they say. Like her mother, Vanilla, she had manners, a caring demeanor, and was polite throughout her conversations, even with Dr. Eggman himself. Cream was brought up well, and you didn't need a master detective to find that out.

But still…

Curiousness killed the cat, regardless. Or rabbit, in this case…

Blinking again, said mammal looked at his desk.

"If you don't mind me asking, Tails-san…" she began curtly, tone that of innocence and intrigue, "…what're you doing?"

The boy was blank for a second, before he realized what she was talking about; moving his head to see the scribbled handwriting, his eyes lit up in recognition, and he looked at her again, dismissively, uncomfortable smile forming on his features. The other frowned at that—was that a bad subject too?

"A-ah, just writing," Miles scratched the back of his ear, his muzzle housing a barely subtle smile. Driving away attention, he slid the piece of paper into his hands, and popped it into his desk drawer.

Confused at his reluctance to tell her, Cream's frown deepened, but, once again, she wouldn't persist if he was uncomfortable with it.

"Never mind," he assured again. "It was just my plans for the Tornado, nothing big."

"…Hmm… alright then," Cream mumbled with uncertainty. Something was indeed up… but she wouldn't press on it.

"So, what did you want, Cream?" Tails asked, smiling at her with an inquisitive expression. "Is something wrong at your place or something? Did something stop working?"

He habitually had to check out appliances every once in a while…

"Oh! Umm, no—that's fine," she replied, shaking her free hand, mirroring Tails' expression sans the inquiring tone. "Thank you for checking, though, Tails-san!"

"No problem," the kitsune replied genially, then tilted his head, rubbing his muzzle questionably, as if a little stumped. "So what's wrong?"

"Well…" At first, Cream trailed, as if awkward to ask, but that only lasted for a second. She regained her bearing, and smiled at him in a friendly manner. "Umm… Momma, Cheese, and me… we're going on a picnic today."

"That sounds cool," Tails replied with a sociable expression, happy for her. But what she was getting at…

"And…. Well, you've… no offence, Tails-san… but… you have been… inside a lot, haven't you?" she asked, twirling the bottom of her shoe into the floor.

Tails paused at this.

"… Uhh… well…"

"I don't mean to be rude…"

Pausing for thought…

"Well, you're not wrong, and I guess I'm not offended," he mumbled. He did think that statement was right… He'd been indoors a lot… In fact, the only time he'd been going out was to get odd groceries, parts, and the classic milk off the doorstep; he didn't do those tasks often since he'd been working so hard on the bi-plane. He did agree with her…

"Is that good or…?"

"Yeah, I think." He looked at her, rubbing his arm. "I'm not mad, don't worry."

"Good…" Cream breathed. "I don't like anyone being mad… even Mr. Knuckles…"

"Yeah… scary," Tails commented, shuddering. "…So what is it?"

Eyes marble for a moment, recognition crashed across her face like a tidal wave. "Oh! Umm, I was wondering if…"

"Yeah?"

"If you wanted to come. To our picnic, I mean."

"Your picnic?"

"It'll be nice to get out, won't it? And Momma made all these delicious sandwiches AND apple pie! We're going to eat in a big meadow, and we got this pretty blanket. It's so soft Cheese wouldn't get off it for an hour!"

She giggled a bit, sounding excited.

Tails noticed the bright look on her face, so happy, prideful, and joyous… and she was asking him of all people. She certainly didn't mention anyone else was going, and the basket _did _look too small for a massive group of Mobians… and he could swear he smelled that baked apple pie Cream had been talking about. Vanilla was truly a master baker in that sense. She'd obviously had a lot of practice, as it smelled divine just through the closed basket.

And… That smile on Cream's face was one you couldn't reject, unless you wanted to see her joy crushed like an ant underfoot.

Tails wasn't the person to do that.

He really needed to work on his plans, though…

…

But then again…

He guessed a little picnic wouldn't hurt. And she was right when she said he'd been stuck inside a while… It'd be nice to spend his actual time out in a meadow of all places, even more so with a friend.

"…Sure, why not?" the kitsune asked her with an approving expression.

Cream's face was an expensive light-bulb, lighting up as soon as he'd given that answer.

"Thank you, Tails-san!" she smiled. "You'll have a lot of fun, I promise!"

"Chaooooo!" the basket lid opened, and Cheese's head emerged from it, jam covering his mouth.

"…Ohhh… but… I think we need to get more jam tarts first," Cream laughed sheepishly.

Tails looked at the cheerful chao, and laughed slightly in response. "Yeah."

"Chao-chhhaooo!"

**FLASH!**

"…Ow…ww…"

Groans of pain sounded from the depths of a black corner, splintered and red beyond repair, rot chipping away at its very lifeline. Beams creaked, and taps made noise yet no water.

"…What… what… happened…?"

The room was an abyss of cold, intimidating darkness, forever swallowing all optimism and happiness in one sight and gulp, ever present. Crumbling sounded at times, and for no reason.

He felt the dust and debris building on his face, clouding his vision as he tried to open his weary eyes. Of course, whether this was manageable was to be debated, because he never found out if he'd opened them. Darkness surrounded him, and he could see nothing, not even his own hands. That in itself was terrifying, along with the noises that sounded endlessly around the morbidly tainted room.

Something metallic reached his nose. Something smelled off. Weird. Unforgiving… and this smell was something that gave hint about what trouble he was in now.

"…W-where…?"

He muttered a low sound of confusion as his eyelids flickered in the blackness, struggling to see even the faintest of lights with his blue eyes. He felt blind. He hated being blind… he wished he had a torch or something. If he'd been back there, it would've been easy… he'd have had a torch… never occurred to him to bring one…

Then again, those batteries would run out eventually…

Moving his arm slowly, he felt a numbing sensation in his back. He assumed he'd been resting on something for too long, and attempted to sit up, cringing as he moved his gloved hands in attempt to set himself straight.

**THUD!**

"…HURKK…!"

He took a sharp intake of breath, sucking in the cold air through his teeth as he recoiled with agony. That cold thud was him hitting the unforgivably rough floor of dense gloom. Something sharp and still prodded at his arm as he slipped.

It was sticking into him… or was it?

He could barely feel anything because his body was just… so numb… and…

His back felt… weird… aside from the lack of feeling he held… like… wet…

…What had he been leaning on?

He strained motionless eyes to look to his left… or was that his right? His mind… was a bit off at the moment.

"…H-huh…? W-what's this…?"

**Nudge-nudge…**

"Feels… squishy…"

**THUD!**

Something white and rotting had fallen directly in front of his face due to the constant nudging of the object with his foot.

"…W-what… WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH…?!"

…Either way, he'd found what he'd been 'looking' for…

Letting out an almost strangled yelp, he jumped erratically, rolling away from that corner with his fur standing on end; his muscles had finally found the will to move, but only of their own accordance… out of fear.

What had been poking him was something new entirely…

For in the corner, lied remains… remains flayed open, set on display… staining the corner like gloomy, muddy paint that had dried over time… and that smell… oh, that smell…

So… rotting… so… meaty…

It explained the metallic smell earlier… and now, he wished he'd never wondered what it was.

"…W-what's…"

He gulped, sweating slightly with shrunk, horrified pupils.

"A… b-b-b…ody…?"

The words were barely able to be spoken; he couldn't believe his eyes, and he didn't want to.

It was a mutilated corpse, rancid and bloody throughout every measure. Organs were smashed, rendered useless, pierced like balloons and looking like some sort of sick mosaic. Blotches of shadowy crimson were sewn onto the wall and the ground, smelling more putrid than every decomposed object put together… No, this was worse. Way worse... White, foggy bones stuck out of joints, and shivers fell down the watcher's spine as he realized what had been poking him earlier… more so, what he had been laying on…

And his back…

"..Kkkh…"

The male gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to yelp and scream even more as he felt something cold dribble down his back…

"…T-this… c-can't be…"

Trailing off, he looked around, and, due to the amount of time spent in the current area, his eyes had certainly become more adjusted.

"…A… classroom…?" he asked himself in confusion. "…But w-what… happened to… Eggman's base…?"

Wincing, he set about trying to stand; for the moment, he was on all fours, and had it not been for self-motivation, he would've stayed that way. His legs felt like they'd locked; sadly, that adrenaline of fear wasn't helping anymore, and he wished it would.

"Oww…" he groaned under his breath, using a table to prep himself up (though he didn't entirely trust it). "…"

Straightening, barely, he looked up, all around…

Broken floorboards… mucky counters… a… dissection table…? He shuddered at that… Gas taps… beakers of… hydrochloric acid…? It seemed like it… for a science lab…

This… was a Science classroom. A lab, to be more precise… but… it didn't feel like a regular one. At all.

The corpse behind him had been a big hint.

Slowly, he swallowed, taking a slight step forward.

"…Sonic…?" he called as his shaking voice had allowed, albeit hesitantly. "…Knuckles? Amy?"

No answer came… at least, not that he heard.

"…Guess n-no one's here…" he mumbled concernedly, in fear of the abnormally long silence. "…But then… where is everyone?"

He felt terrified at the concept of being alone, but at the same time, he wouldn't want his friends to be here…

He assumed they were about somewhere… it involved something at Eggman's base, and everyone was there… maybe they got sent here too…

"…I guess we all g-got separated…" he mused, "…I… have to find everyone… or someone, at least… figure out what's going on h-here…"

He had to think, for the moment. He had to decide… he couldn't stand around here, waiting for help. That would help no one…

…But this place looked so spooky… creepy… and…

It seemed… unsettling and dangerous. The air was thick with something that he couldn't describe, because it was that scarring to guess what it was…

No time to dwell on it.

Limping to the door, his paranoid mind thought of the possibilities of where he was. It did indeed look like a school, but… mutilated corpses? He never expected such a thing!

What was wrong with this place? Something terrible must have happened, he gathered… perhaps this was an abandoned site, shut down or something… It seemed in pretty bad shape; definitely dilapidated… Perhaps a murder had occurred here, and the murderer had fled…

That story wasn't settling for him, certainly not helping his nerves at all.

It seemed to be the only logical explanation, though! And that body had been there a while… didn't need Sherlock to point that out… Perhaps the police hadn't found it yet. Perhaps, he should alert them of it!

…He didn't know why, but that felt useless… probably because of the lack of digital devices on his person. Had he a phone or communication device of some sort, he would be using it as a lamp right now. A small light was better than no light at all. The darkness was an abyss of trouble, uninvited; if the murderer was here, he didn't want to be caught.

He'd rather be in Eggman's clutches than be in some place like this…

**Thud-thud-thud…**

He heard footsteps outside the door… they echoed quite obviously, and… did he hear breathing? He didn't know… he heard a noise, however, and he tried to remain optimistic for that moment.

"…Cream?" he called reluctantly, voice going from low to high within a few seconds. "Blaze? …Silver!"

…

Nothing replied. Perhaps that was for the best. If it wasn't them… he didn't want to think about it.

As he listened on, the footsteps eventually droned out into silent taps outside the classroom, soon no longer heard by his ears.

Breathing a sigh, whether it be depressed or relieved, as he didn't know which, the boy finally came to a stop in front of the door, setting his hand upon the handle.

And, as he did, he noticed something.

The style of the door. It wasn't a regular thing he'd seen… looked… foreign. Having never seen these sorts of windows where he had been, he assumed this.

…_Looks… familiar, though…_

Now that he thought about it, it reminded him of Chun-Nan… but that was just a guess. He looked to his left, seeing barricaded windows with wooden frames. The glass was intact, despite all the damage in the room, although it wasn't particularly helpful, since he couldn't see anythi—

"…!"

He froze on the spot, blood running cold as his terrified gaze glanced at that window momentarily again. Stiff with fright, he didn't dare breathe after a hitched breath, every muscle tensing up and every bit of fur standing on end.

A blue glow had walked by the window, and, housing the glow… well, it was humanoid.

…_! T-that… that's… a…_

That led to assumption, and he felt his heart rate increase erratically as the glow stopped, turning around again and walking out of the window's sights, past the door…

Body unmoving, he only breathed when he deemed it necessary, and that was after he could no longer see the glow.

"…What… W-was… t-that… a…" he squeaked quietly, "…g-ghost…?"

He didn't believe his eyes as much as he disbelieved Sonic disliked chilidogs.

…That logical explanation of his felt small in comparison to this situation. To think, hours ago, he had been planning a picnic with Cream… and now…

Now he was in a place that didn't care for logic, and was already one of the most intimidating and unforgiving places on the planet.

**Thud-thud...**

All senses stopping once again, minus his ears, the thudding noises sounded closer…

In the room, closer…

Behind him, closer…

Yelping suddenly and regaining his messed-up bearings, he rattled the door's handle frantically, before pausing when he heard nothing else. And… the door wasn't opening. In fact, it felt incredibly cold to touch. He moved his hand away from the handle—it felt like he was getting frostbite already…

Was there any point in trying to open it? His hands hurt… and the door was obviously locked.

Heart rate quickening, his head turned, only a little bit, as he strained his blue, frightened eyes to glance behind him.

Tails saw no one. Not a single being.

But…

There was this…

Anatomical figure…

**And… there we go!**

**If you've only just noticed these notes now, it's because I was too tired to put them in the other night. XD It was quite late when I typed this up; I was eager to get it done, because I need to.**

**Anyway, that aside, I get distracted a lot, so unless I got a major plotbunny for a fic, it may take a while to get chapters up and running, plus my laptop's keyboard keeps playing up (s, x, c, m, shift, etc. don't work sometimes—it's annoying when I writing, so I have to use a USB keyboard).**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. :3 If you haven't guessed already, Taiream is going to be in the fic, as are other couples, Corpse Party and Sonic alike… and there'll be a dangerous love triangle later too. ;3 I'm developing these relationships, though, so they won't be rushed and canon as possible. I hope you enjoy the interactions! :D**

**XXSadlysomepeepswillhavetodieXX D'X**

**Anyway, responses ('cause most of the reviews are guest reviews! XDDD) **

** Cheesecake Superstar: Thank chu! n3n Glad you like it, buddeh! :D**

** Weapon X Foxfire: I will do! ):D**

** SonAdow-Baby: Ahaha, yeah. I don't mind it as much as the next guy (or chick…), though. X3 It just tells me you like my fic! :D …But with Writer's Block in the way… yeah. XD That aside, thank you. **** I aim to please!**

** Guest: Well, I haz updated! But is it soon? XD And, this is the game universe. Prefer the games (and the Manga) to be honest, because it's most canon (and not as many people die; what happens to poor Yuka… ;-; ). I can't guarantee nothing bad will happen to Yuka; still plotting out this fic as we speak. Guess we'll see. ;3**

** Anonymous: Will do! :D**

** Andre Oltman: Well, it's gonna' be a novel, so you'll definitely get more. XD As for the changing names thing, I don't find that fun to write out. I prefer dialogue being original than copied; your own work is better than your copy of someone's work.**

**Thanks for the reviews, guys! Glad you like it! :D**

**Until next time, my aweshum readers… Toxic out! :)**


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